A prominent member of the African Union has expressed confidence that the group will resolve the crisis in South Sudan following meetings with President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar

South Africans head to the polls on May 7th, 20 years after Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress won the country's first democratic elections. The ANC is expected to win again, but issues of poverty and corruption persist

Nearly two thirds of humanity remains offline, that is more than 4 billion people. The internet is a powerful enabler of social and economic progress and everyone deserves to be connected. It is the responsibility of the technology industry to make this happen

The government of Cameroon has vehemently denied allegations that it has allowed its territory to be used as a training ground by terrorist groups and rebels destabilizing Nigeria and the Central African Republic

East African countries said they are ready to send a protection and stabilization force to South Sudan, where fighting has continued despite a ceasefire. Peace negotiations taking place in Addis Ababa have made little headway

A profound mismatch exists between Guinea's two main economic sectors: mining and agriculture. Mining, creates minimal employment for Guineans. By contrast, agriculture, the sector that can create employment on a massive scale has been ignored

Africa's mining sector has a transparency problem, and the Republic of Guinea, under President Alpha Conde's leadership, is now seen as a test case for opening up the finances of the industry to public scrutiny

West Africa supports some of the world's most productive marine and freshwater ecosystems. However, mismanagement, weak regulatory frameworks, a lack of enforcement, too many vessels and greed have had negative consequences for fisheries

2014 will go down as a milestone year in Nigeria's history, the moment when its economy achieves global scale. Given Nigeria's vast and rapidly growing population, it cannot fail to demand an ever greater share of the global investor's attention

By the looks of it, U.S. President Barack Obama may be close to joining the French in taking on the Chinese -- in Africa. Obama made it clear to both British and French leadership that he was going to leave it to them to protect unstable African countries

A decade after the court started work, the Security Council has found the common purpose to refer only two cases to it, both of them African: crimes committed in Libya during Colonel Gaddafi's final days, and by the regime of Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan

Hardly a day goes by without America-bashers accusing the U.S. of 'imperialism' or 'interventionism.' Meanwhile, China is largely exempt from that sort of criticism from the same crowd. If only they'd listen to a few of the other voices

Africa is the one remaining region where big families are the norm. Fertility is still high with five births per woman and rapid population growth is inevitable. Africa's population will more than double from 900 million today to 1.96 billion by 2050

A slow return to normality is becoming possible in Mali's northern regions which endured months of harsh jihadist rule until French-led forces intervened. However, there is concern that this should not simply mean a return to the pre-crisis state of affairs

The key to China's acceptance in Africa has been its strictly businesslike approach: economic investment without political engagement. Yet there is some evidence that Chinese companies are beginning to wear out their welcome on the continent

China's activities in Africa have long been a target of criticism. Its support of controversial leaders and massive hunger for resources have led some to question its intentions. Changing that perception has been a key point for Chinese President Xi Jinping

The forgotten war has just turned 10 years old, but of course almost no one took notice. Since early 2003, at least 300,000 people have been killed. More than 2 million others have been forced from their homes. Even now, the problems are worsening

Transparency International lists almost three dozen states as more corrupt. But are any of those nations as wealthy as Nigeria -- taking in $81 billion annually, just from the sale of oil? No. So Nigeria steals and squanders more money than any other nation

Liberian Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee has warned that recent developments are undermining Liberia's young democracy. Her warning comes amid a dispute between Grace Kpaan and members of the House of Representatives

Human Rights Watch is urging Kenya to crack down on rights abuses and enact promised political reforms ahead of its national elections as heightened tensions could lead to an outbreak of violence and threaten the voting

The recent jihadist attack in Algeria, and the subsequent hostage situation prompted some knee-jerk discussions. From these discussions came the belief that the incident was unprecedented. A closer examination shows quite the opposite

South Africa is hosting this year's Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament, but you would not know it to look around Johannesburg. It is a far cry from the mania that washed over South Africa when it hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The relief felt several months ago at the apparent outlawing of child marriages now appears to have been premature, with Swaziland's traditional leadership recently declaring that such unions are acceptable

It would indeed be nice if there were no wars anywhere on Earth. It would also be great to own five BMWs and three private islands. Both are equally unlikely scenarios, yet only the first is accepted as plausible by the perpetually deluded

Militant Islamists fleeing northern Mali under pressure from French forces could undermine security in neighbouring countries from where some of the fighters are believed to hail. They could also attract the support of sympathetic militias in the region

Despite his repeated brushes with the law, a poor performance in his first term and a general sense that at the age of 70 he is unfit for leadership, Jacob Zuma won a second term as president of the ANC with 75 per cent of the vote

Over the past two months, an estimated 1,000 families have been forced from their homes in Baringo, a district in Kenya's northern Rift Valley, because of recurrent conflict between the local Tugen and Pokot communities

Socialist French President Francois Hollande is in the pilot's seat in the world's latest military incursion. We're not used to seeing the French lead the way into battle, but it's becoming increasingly frequent

The thick stench of human waste pervades the block of the eight unfinished flats in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. The complex is dotted with human faeces - some of it parcelled in plastic bags, some not

Nigeria is destined to become Africa's largest economy. The kind of economic growth it will experience and the extent to which this will transform the lives of its 160 million people is yet to be determined

South Africa's past policies, like Nigeria's, were paradoxically suffused with a missionary zeal. While Nigeria advocated economic development, apartheid's leaders talked patronisingly about their country having 'special responsibilities'

The government insists that the killings cited by human rights activists and the UN, far from being targeted assassinations of opposition supporters, were the result of banditry, land disputes or score-settling between civilians

Officials in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, are appealing for food aid and potable water for thousands of families who have lost their livelihoods in the current drought

Mothers, babies and newly diagnosed HIV patients are receiving more of the services they need but progress comes at a cost, according to a new report that predicts a funding shortfall for HIV treatment in South Africa

The Arabs' exceptionalism was becoming not just a human disaster but a moral one. Then, a frustrated Tunisian fruit vendor summoned his fellows to a new history. The third Arab awakening came in the nick of time, and it may still usher in freedom

The arrival of democracy in South Africa brought with it unprecedented freedom for its media. No longer shackled by the myriad of laws it had to endure under apartheid, the right to freedom of expression had now been enshrined in its new negotiated Constitution

While security and defense contracting in Africa is nothing new, the awarding of another multi-million dollar contract by the US State Department to a controversial private security operation is perhaps indicative of just how thinly stretched the US military is becoming

Brandishing a plea for developed countries to make good their promises to reduce carbon emissions, 300 farmers, youths and activists took the scenic route to the COP17 conference in Durban, travelling more than 7,000km from Burundi in 17 days, through 10 eastern and southern African countries, aboard a convoy of buses draped in various national flags

Livestock herders in Lesotho are suspicious of the government's motives for 'modernizing' the land tenure system, fearing it will bring about a radical change in their way of life and deprive them of their birthright to land

After more than two years of political crisis, Madagascar finally appears to be moving towards the restoration of democracy. A new prime minister has been appointed, and elections are planned for 2012. Donors who suspended aid to the impoverished island nation are watching these developments closely

Pre-election politics and planned development schemes have fuelled an upsurge in inter-communal killings and forced displacement in Kenya's northern Isiolo area, which if left unaddressed, is likely to escalate

Two years after the Nigerian government granted amnesty to militants fighting mainly for development and job opportunities in the oil-rich Niger River Delta, violence has diminished, and oil revenues have increased. But analysts argue that the amnesty programme is flawed and will not lead to long-term peace

Boko Haram, which means 'Western education is sinful' in Hausa, was established in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state. It has since spread to several other northern and central Nigerian states

After the 2012 coup in Guinea-Bissau, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta -- Nobel peace laureate and former President of East Timor -- was appointed to help restore democracy. He tells about how the corrupt politicians and generals brought the country to its knees

No one knows the exact amount of remittances Africans send home, since not all of this goes through official channels. However, remittances sent home by Africans working abroad are a better basis for future development than international aid

Many violent revolutionaries became peacemakers once their oppressors were removed from power. Whether Mandela experienced a conversion, or simply adapted a more pragmatic path to his goals, I cannot say. Let us charitably assume the best about a man who ended an evil

Steve Bantu Biko was only 31 when South African Security policemen killed him on September 12, 1977. Yet Biko's significance stretches far beyond his short life and the brutality of his death. He was, and is, hailed for his role in developing Black Consciousness

Africa has become a better place for children in recent years, but more investments are needed in health and education to further improve the lives of African children, according to a new study of the African Child Policy Forum

When the M23 rebel group surrendered after its defeat by the Congolese Army, elated international observers declared it the beginning of the end of the longest, deadliest conflict since the Second World War. But is it?

The United Nations finally got tough. It unleashed MONUSCO, its in-country peacekeeping force, to join forces with the Congolese Armed Forces in a full-scale military operation to route the rampaging rebel group, the M23

It began like any other Saturday morning at the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Then havoc broke out. The massacre accordingly represents al-Shabaab's savage coming of age as an international terrorist organization

After mounting a military operation to help Mali crush Islamist extremists, some observers say the Mali intervention symbolizes a changed French relationship with Africa -- and the presidency of French leader Francois Hollande

The French-led military offensive in Mali has pushed back radical Islamists freeing the local population from totalitarian rule. However, despite these initial victories, it raises concerns as to what unforeseen consequences may lay down the road

The Somali government plans to relocate thousands of internally displaced persons currently in Mogadishu to camps on the outskirts of the city, but there are concerns over inadequate government capacity as well as security and access to services

The main foreign preoccupation seems to be the potential threat to America of al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb and the other bands of Islamic jihadists, kidnappers, smugglers and bandits active in the Sahara

Military interventions by powerful nations into lesser ones, such as now continues in Mali (and Afghanistan), and is being urged by many into the Syrian civil war, are inherently reckless since even the most powerful states can have the whole project blow up on them

The Algerian hostage situation and ensuing crisis -- one of the largest hostage seizures ever ended with the death of 80 people -- was both a human and political fiasco and its regional implications are still evolving

More than 10 years after the chaotic and often violent farm invasions that accompanied Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform programme, a new book argues that the redistribution programme has dramatically improved the lives of thousands

In their planning to support the Libyan revolution, Western powers appear to have neglected the impact on its sub-Saharan neighbours. This gap in thinking may reflect the institutional gulf in foreign ministries between sections focused on the Middle East and North Africa

Ship hijackings and piracy off the coast of Somalia has dropped off dramatically in 2012. However, diminished activity does not necessarily mean a decrease in the cost of sailing around the Horn of Africa

More than 1,000 people are estimated to have died in bombings and shootings by Islamist extremists in northern Nigeria since 2009, but an additional casualty has been the jobs and opportunities lost in an already deprived region

As South Africa moves towards universal healthcare, health policy experts warn that the country has grossly underestimated the number of health workers it will need to ensure access to health services for everyone

More than half of all Ethiopians have access to an improved source of drinking water, but the country still has much work to do if it hopes to achieve its goal of providing access to safe water and sanitation for its 83 million people by 2015

South Africa is the undoubted social, economic and geopolitical powerhouse of the southern cone of Africa. Yet its unique regional perspective on power is currently more concerned with global than regional dynamics

We have seen Tuareg militants, previously employed by the regime of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, leave Libya with sizable stockpiles of weapons and returning to northern Mali, where they have successfully wrested control of the region away from the Malian government

Although overpopulation plagues much of the developing world, many developed societies are now suffering from the opposite problem: birthrates so low that each generation is smaller than the previous one

It might seem a daunting challenge to determine which of the world's repressive nations. But you may be surprised by the unanimity among organizations that study such things. The consensus choice is Eritrea

Trying to determine who is the world's most destructive national leader might seem like a daunting assignment. There seem to be so many to choose from. But look at the facts, and you'll find only one perfectly obvious choice: Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe

Twenty-nine NGOs providing services ranging from alleviating food insecurity to assisting the disabled in Zimbabwe's Masvingo Province have been banned, sparking fears that this could be the start of new wave of restrictions

South Africa has chosen World AIDS Day 2011 to launch its new national strategic plan that, for the first time, will guide not only the national fight against HIV but also tuberculosis (TB) until 2016. The document contains several major policy changes, including the immediate provision of lifelong antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to all HIV-positive mothers and TB patients, as well as a focus on positive prevention

As international HIV funding declines, nations are bracing for a future with less money and tougher choices. In countries like donor-dependent Malawi, a new UNAIDS tool is already beginning to shape how to rationalize their HIV responses to cope with the altered circumstances

Kenya's estimated funding gap in providing HIV services until 2013 is estimated at $1.67 billion. In 2010, the national budget set aside an unprecedented $10.5 million - for the purchase of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, but much more money is required

'Starting from scratch' is the term used widely to describe the challenges faced by the world's newest state, the Republic of South Sudan. More recently, it has been used to describe the difficulties to be faced in Libya. While the two states are in entirely different situations both face similar difficulties in what is effectively nation building in a post-war context

Independent media continues to function in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, despite the killing of two journalists since the beginning of the year and the exile of 50 others after receiving death threats. Ten radio stations and a TV station operate in the city